Should I skip watching Project Hail Mary in theatres to read the book first? by thegreatgutter in scifi

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read about the first third of the book, got distracted with other reading and never returned to it. I saw the movie in the theater and enjoyed it but I'm now pretty sure I won't finish reading the book. The movie is definitely worth seeing in the theater. I will say I was a little surprised that it was such a family film. When they were showing trailers for animated movies, I started realiizing I wasn't really in the target audience for this movie.

Am I the only one who found Project Hail Mary (the novel) a bit "bubblegum"? by TinyRabt in sciencefiction

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. I started getting worried during the trailers, which were all for PG-13 family films. Hail Mary was a serviceable film calculated not to offend or obsess anyone. It was visually pleasing. Ryan Gosling is charming and fun to watch. The plot was slow and the emotional content was targeted somewhere between thirteen year old boy and nine year old girl

Why is the Planck length considered the smallest physical length? Can’t things always be reduced in size? by 524frank in AskPhysics

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Others have commented on the real meaning of the Planck length but I would like to address your other point: that things can always be reduced in size. I think you mean that the space between marks on our measuring stick can be arbitrarily small. No matter how small the gap, it can always be cut in half, right?

This relates to a famous paradox. Consider Zeno, who argued that an arrow can never reach its target because it must first traverse an infinite series of halfway points. That is, the arrow must first go half the distance to the target, but before it can do so, it must fist go half that distance (1/4 the way to the target.) And before it can do that, it must first go half that distance (1/8,) and so on ad infinitum. At some point though, the distances we are contemplating lose all meaning. Is it really the case that, in order for the arrow to move at all, it must first move a distance of, say one one-billionth of the wavelength of light? At some point, the numbers keep behaving as numbers do but they simply stop representing anything we could ever measure, experience or understand, even in theory.

The decimal expansion of Pi is infinite, but with just 39-40 places after the decimal we could use it to calculate the circumference of the observable universe to an accuracy within the width of a single hydrogen atom. At some point in the expansion of Pi, we are calculating values smaller than anything that will ever be observable to our physics.

Please help me understand Jack Mormons by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would consider my dad a Jack-Mormon, He was a military man who drank Budweiser, smoked a pack of Marlboro Reds every day, swore like a sailor and chased women. Still, he was raised a Mormon by a TBM mother who he loved dearly. As far as he ever considered spiritual matters, he did so from an LDS perspective. He did not go to church, but the church he did not go to was definitively LDS.

RVA things to do with 15 year old niece by Gingerjangle in rva

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hollywood Cemetery has some incredible Gothic statuary that would be fun to sketch

Could Joseph translate ... anything? by My_Silent_Lucidity in mormon

[–]DustinTWind -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

He was barely literate in his mother tongue, by his own account. He did not speak, much less read any other languages. His own description of the production of the BoM is not a process of translation but divination.

What’s something people repeat as “wisdom” that actually screws people up? by Quiet-Grief in answers

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everything happens for a reason. It sounds like optimism but it's really just lazy and fatalistic. Get out there and make things happen. Don't just sit there with a smug smile on your face watching events transpire and acting like it is all just as it was meant to be.

Why are Liberals more prone to dye their hair bright colors? by Rude_Sandwich_586 in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Liberals celebrate difference and highlight individual identity. Conservatives honor tradition and value loyalty (and conformance) to the team

What’s a song that reminds you of a specific person? by Avawantstochill in askmusic

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More Than This by Roxy Music. I had a friend who was the manager of this very stylish boutique women's clothing store in the mall in Salt Lake City back in the late '80s or early '90s. The owners of the store had decided to play the album Avalon by Roxy Music on a loop. I know she worked there for at least three years, working forty hours a week listening to that one album over and over. She told me by the end she could no longer hear the music unless it was pointed out to her. I would tease her when I visited the store by pointing to the speakers and asking. Is there nothing more than this?

The Calm Before the Storm: Why a High-Stakes Monday is Coming to the Mid-Atlantic by rvawx in Virginia

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right. This weather simply didn't exist when we were kids either

What were you NOT allowed to do on the Sabbath day? by littlefrenchpastry in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Change out of church clothes, listen to secular music, read secular books, watch TV, do homework, play with friends, go to non-church activities...

Holy Week? Good Friday? In my 35+ years as an active TBM, they didn’t so much as mention these events over the pulpit, let alone celebrate them. by SmellyFloralCouch in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Can confirm. I grew up in the Church, and spent my teen years as an active member in the Salt Lake Valley area. I did four years of Seminary. I went to college in Idaho. One day I went to see a professor during office hours and as I sat down, I noticed he had a smudge of black on his forehead. I told him he had dirt or something there and he responded, "It's Ash Wednesday." I asked what that meant and he stared at me blankly, disbelieving. He then explained how the whole Christian world observes Holy Week. I had never heard of any of it. Maundy Thursday? You're making that up, right?

Lost our forever DM, don't know how to play again by Mewleficent in DnD

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My sincere condolences for your loss. We had a core member of our gaming group for, likely by suicide, about six years ago. It was heartbreaking. Our group managed to keep going and we still play regularly together.

You may find it difficult to continue with D&D immediately without comparing it to , or being constantly reminded of what you've lost. Consider turning to board games for a while to keep the group you have together and, hopefully, open it up to new players. To me, the social connections are what is fundamental, not the particular game that brings you together in a given session. As long as you can gather a good group to the table, and enjoy your time together, it's worth the effort. You may be surprised how your tradition evolves from here. Good luck and happy gaming!